Do different streamers really sound different when using an external DAC

@ gdnrbob
The Node 2i does indeed to the full MQA unfold if using it's internal DAC but I do agree with your last comment.

All great suggestions, thanks.
I have found the node 2i a significant improvement over a macbook via USB so am committed to streaming. Using a better outboard DAC improves further on the internal DAC. 

So now I'm just trying to figure out the next step for further improvement. Hopefully someone who was using a Node 2i with an external DAC who changed up their streamer can pipe in.

What I don't want to do is spend $$$ on another streamer, only to find it to be a lateral move to a different sonic signature that does not serve the music better. 

@fuzztone

I do have an external DAC that I really like that I have the Bluesound hooked into and like what I hear compared to the internal DAC. Just wondering if a streamer upgrade with my new DAC will bring me more. My external DAC does not do MQA, So I am not getting all the unfolds of the MQA process but despite that, MQA Tidal sounds better with the new DAC than full unfold through the internal DAC of the Node 2i.  I'm not convinced that with Tidal Masters MQA of itself is what makes it better. 

@cns1946,
I'm using a Musical Paradise MP-D2 Mk3 Deluxe DAC. They are a very small company ( one man show) in Western Canada that designs the DAC and is then made in China.

Really wonderful DAC that punches well above its price point. Also very configurable, and very well built,  great for tube rolling as in can use many different tubes in the gain section and even choose 5  or 6 volt tube rectifiers, all switchable. You can even upgrade coupling capacitors easily as they are attached by  internal  binding posts, just like speaker terminals.

True that the node 2i output is only 24/96 if using an external DAC. That being said, resolution isn't everything. Implementation is very important.

A bit like cameras where you chase the megapixels as the only determinate of image quality when there is so much more like lens quality that goes into the equation.

I use wifi and have zero dropouts. I have never considered a hardwired ethernet connection.

I have compared the quality of the same file via a drive hooked into a computer on my network vs the same file on a flash drive connected to the USB input of the node 2i and found little  discernable difference. You can't get any more direct than the USB input so I doubt in my set up a direct wired ethernet would make much of a difference.

I have thought about a better power cord for the 2i so thanks for the input on that, lowrider57

It certainly is, vanson1.

 

Thanks everyone. I think there are all valid points made.

There is no question that a better external DAC improves on the internal DAC of the Node 2i.  

Seems like the streamer also is key but perhaps not as significant.YMMV!

I suspect it might be a significant point of diminishing returns where one would have to spend a lot more $$$ on a stand alone streamer to have a significant improvement in sound. So many of the top streamers seem to have DACs in them rather than being stand alone so you often need to get the baby with the bathwater so to speak.

@sbank 

Thanks for that Spencer. Interesting to read about the Sonore. Unfortunately not a solution for me as my new DAC does not have a USB input and I really LOVE this DAC. The first thing I will do is switch to an ethernet connection, easy to implement. Then moving up the streamer food chain would be a good move I suspect, something like an Auralic streamer perhaps. Certainly open to suggestions in that area, but want to avoid products that have a buggy or unfriendly control app. The control app is one of the nice things about the Node 2i.

Anyone have experience with using the USB input as a sole method of accessing music files on the Node 2i, as opposed to NAS. In the past not really a viable option with traditional hard drives but with the price of SSDs now might be worth considering.

I wonder if the hard wiring benefit is for homes with a poor wifi ? My home has very good wifi and I never get dropouts.

It would be great to get some input from Node 2i users who have directly compared wifi to ethernet hard wire without any other changes to cloud the comparison.

For me to easily implement wired ethernet would require a long and unsightly ethernet cable run and from what I read ethernet cables can create their own problems. Additionally, some streamer manufacturers claim that wifi sounds better than ethernet because of their proper implementation of the wifi section of their streamers.

In the meantime, I have put a few Hi Rez files on a USB flash drive that I will hook up to the USB input of the node 2i and compare it to the same files via WiFi. If it is an improvement over the wifi I may be shopping for an external SSD drive; they are quite reasonable in price these days.

@ianrmack 
Unsure why the device you recommended would be an improvement over my current wifi set up on the node 2i. It seems as if this is  a wifi extender that I would then hook up via ethernet cable to the mode 2i. Would a unit like this somehow implement the wifi signal better than what the node 2i does? Appreciate your explanation. did using this device sound better with the node 2i compared to the node 2i accessing the wifi directly?

@ianrmack 

So I think I understand now. The WLAN device replaces the wifi receiver part of the node 2i so I can then just use an ethernet cable to connect it to the Node2i. Was this improvement you had with this device worthwhile enough with the Node 2i such that you are no longer lusting after the Lumin?

@ianrmack
I have also looked a threads where someone is compared the bluesound to the Lumin and could not reliably tell the difference. Hard to justify the expenditure. I perhaps see where you got the idea for the WLAN device. It's recommended with the purchase of the Lumin on the Upscale Audio webpage. Then again, from my understanding, the Lumin does not have a built in wifi signal receiver so you pretty much have to use a device like this if your Lumin is not right by your modem. All this stuff can make your head spin. Time to go listen to some vinyl!

 

Just about ready to order one of these powerline adapters on Amazon to try hooking up via ethernet. In the description it states that both the "send" and "receive" units need to be on the same circuit. Since my modem is upstairs which is a different circuit (on my circuit breaker), than my audio system, which is one floor below, will this no longer work?

Interesting that you bring up the Tubadour, it is one of the DACs I was considering to hook up to the Node 2i before I bought the Musical Paradise DAC. Being in Canada it would be an issue with customs and such to buy and return it if I didn't like it. The MP DAC fell in my lap and though it's not R2R is all tube, non oversampling, including tube rectification, built like a tank with user upgradable coupling caps. Very well reviewed on the boards and was a no brainer for me as the designer/company owner lives in my province.

That being said, a good buddy of mine who lives in the US is a retired classical musician with an outstanding audio system and a very critical ear. And he is a hardcore vinyl guy,
I turned him onto the Tubadour and he has had it for about 2 weeks and loves it. And I would expect it would even better if you rolled out the tubes Vlad puts in them.

Something like a Reflector 74/75 SWGP from the USSR would sing in it. My DAC runs 6dj8 or equivalents (same as the Tubadour) and these particular Russian Tubes walk all over the Amperex Bugle Boys I was using. I think you will love the Tubadour over the RME if you want more music and less of an analytical sound. 

Thanks  everyone, very useful. Looks like many worthwhile experiences in upgrading the streamer and no doubt there is a significant difference when going from a Node to a $8000 Aurender as pdewher did. Of course the million dollar question is  how much does one need to spend to make a cost effective upgrade if $8000 is more than one wants to spend?  Any suggestions? Would an Aurender N100 be enough to justify the expenditure or must one go up the food chain further?

@sbank I found the same when I went from my Macbook to the Node 2i.

Well, I did get and installed today  the powerlink devices you suggested so I could hook up the Node 2i via ethernet and I'm glad I did. I does sound better, mostly with respect to greater dynamics.

In fact I played the first cut from the Chick Corea/Steve Gadd release " Chinese Butterfly" which I highly recommend if you like contemporary jazz.  "Chick's Chums" has some great drumming on it and when the drum intro kicks in  I nearly jumped out of my seat. Good Times!